Monday, September 28, 2015

Austin Fickman has been making movies for more than half of his
life…and he’s only 18! Filmmaking is
in his genes. His father is
director/writer/ producer Andy Fickman and his mother is Hollywood manager
Elissa Leeds.

Austin started making films at the age of eight and by the time he
reached the 7th grade, his films were competing in – and winning – competitions
and film festivals around the world.
While his passion is comedy, recently he has broadened his subject range,
making his first socially conscious film Take
a Stand, based on a true story dealing with the reality of bullying. Take a
Stand has already garnered multiple film festival awards.

Providing entertainment and enjoying the filmmaking process is the driving
force for Austin. In fact, his love of
the medium prompted him to begin the Laguna Beach High School Film Club, which
is the largest student-created club in the school.

Believing strongly in the importance of filmmakers having an
opportunity to be showcased and judged within the parameters that accurately
reflect their peer groups, the ambitious 18-year-old created the Laguna Film
Festival, which debuts this fall featuring short films from young and emerging
filmmakers. The response has been overwhelming
and the festival received over 1000 submissions from 69 countries.

Austin has a big year ahead of him, dividing his time between his
senior year of high school, making films and developing and launching a short
film festival.

ABOUT THE FILM FESTIVAL

The Laguna Film Festival, a festival of short films which takes place Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18, is proud to announce the film line-up for the inaugural festival. Created as a platform for young and emerging filmmakers, the response has been overwhelming, having received over 1000 submissions, representing 69 countries. LFF was founded by Austin Fickman, an ambitious 18-year-old who has been making films since the age of eight and competing in film festivals for nearly as long. "The quality of film submissions we received were outstanding," said Fickman. "I'm thrilled about the program we've put together and believe people will be glad they attended. For me, filmmaking is a passion and I'm excited about being able to share this experience with the Laguna community, festival attendees and my peers."The LFF will present three days of activities, including select films being shown in competition, plus some of Hollywood's top professionals engaging in panel discussions covering a wide range of topics important to emerging filmmakers. The panels and panelists will be announced soon.